The 13 Best GraphQL Tools For 2024

It's no secret that we love GraphQL at Hygraph. Over time, we see many GraphQL tools opening up new opportunities for developers, and that's why we keep updating this list every year to keep the best GraphQL tools at your fingertips.

Check out the list below if you are developing with GraphQL and try them to make your development process more efficient.

#1. Hygraph — all your content in one GraphQL API

Number one on our list has to be our very own Hygraph. We’re biased, but it’s been frequently featured on other lists, too — and here’s why. Hygraph is the first GraphQL-native headless CMS that allows you to manage and distribute content globally, providing a single source of truth to efficiently scale your content. This means you can federate and unify fragmented data silos into one powerful GraphQL API, so that you can ship exceptional product experiences faster without backend resources.

#2. GraphiQL 2.0 — making GraphQL easier

Like most developers, we like GraphiQL because its IDE (Integrated Development Environment) makes GraphQL so much easier to use. GraphiQL brings the new era of data querying languages to the next level by providing the necessary interface for writing, validating, and testing GraphQL queries and mutations.

#3. Stellate — streamline your GraphQL caching

Formerly known as GraphCDN, Stellate is a platform for optimizing and securing GraphQL APIs. It was created by a well-experienced team, whose members developed tools like Prisma, GraphiQL, and GraphQL Playground. Edge caching is one of its most popular features among developers (as well as one of the most popular GraphQL tools in our 2024 State of GraphQL Report). It allows you to speed up performance, reduce cloud costs, and prevent downtime by offloading repetitive traffic.

#4. GraphQL IDE — the GraphQL playground

GraphQL IDE carries a whole host of awesome features and tools that make GraphQL so much more fun to play with. Those features include project import and export, query storability, query history, and custom headers. GraphQL IDE allows for smoother workflows by including GraphQL subscriptions, interactive documentation, and collaboration opportunities.

#5. Prisma - build your GraphQL server with ease

Prisma offers a set of database tools for modern application development. It covers any type of language and database, including GraphQL. In this regard, it replaces traditional ORMs and makes it really easy to build and implement GraphQL servers. Prisma stands out thanks to its excellent query engine, API and developer experience.

#6. GraphQL Mesh — federated architecture for API services

The Guild has created another game-changing GraphQL tool called GraphQL Mesh. GraphQL Mesh lets you create executable GraphQL schemas from multiple data sources, and it lets you use GraphQL query language to access data in remote APIs, regardless of whether they run GraphQL.

#7. Apollo Studio — unify GraphQL across apps and services

Studio is just one part of Apollo GraphQL, a platform that integrates a number of tools needed for operating and building with GraphQL. Apollo Server, Schema Registry, IDE Plugins, and Apollo Client are some other tools. Apollo Studio pulls data from Apollo schemas and performance reports — handing you the opportunity to improve your schema management system.

#8. GraphQL Voyager — visualize your GraphQL

Visuals are processed much more easily by the brain, which is what makes GraphQL Voyager such an important tool for developers, and anyone else learning about how GraphQL works. GraphQL Voyager provides you with a graph of your graph — your Schema Graph to be exact. This interactive tool can be really helpful when discussing and designing your data model.

#9. GraphQL Code Generator — generate Typescript code instantly

GraphQL Code Generator is an established player in the GraphQL space after its launch in 2016. It enables teams to generate Typescript code instantly to help developers avoid the repetitive actions of transforming information from a GraphQL schema into the various forms needed such as resolver signatures. The outputs are highly customizable and the tool itself is straightforward and easy to use.

#10. Insomnia — user-friendly GraphQL API builder

Insomnia is another tried-and-true tool for GraphQL developers. It has been offering GraphQL support since 2017. Insomnia enables developers to create GraphQL APIs in a user-friendly way that promotes organization, and efficiency. The two product offerings, Insomnia Core and Insomnia Designer, give developers all of the tools they need to build powerful APIs using GraphQL.

#11. Altair GraphQL Client — debug your GraphQL APIs with ease

The Altair GraphQL Client helps you debug your GraphQL APIs quickly and easily. Although this project is much newer than some of the other players on this list, the progress and adoption it has seen is impressive. With Altair GraphQL Client, features like advanced schema doc search, environments and the ability to execute pre-request scripts, are just the beginning. We are looking forward to seeing what they have to offer in 2023!

#12. GraphQL Editor — create backends from GraphQL schema

Take advantage of GraphQL Editor's ready-to-use fake backend to visualize your schema. Easily collaborate with others and create Team Schema Libraries. If you're looking for a way to visualize and validate your existing schema, then GraphQL Editor could be the right tool for you.

#13. GraphQL Docs — auto-create your docs

If developers wanted to be writers, they would have chosen a writing career - but they didn't. And that’s why GraphQL Docs is a lifesaver for those who have to write up documentation — whether we like it or not. As the website itself says, this tool creates beautiful documents in seconds, and it also gives you the option to allow public or private access to your document.

#GraphQL adoption is growing

The number of major international companies incorporating GraphQL is growing - Shopify, Github, Medium, Docker, Twitter, Airbnb, and Paypal are just some of the mega-enterprises which have implemented GraphQL into their tech stack. Many of these tools, which began as niche products, have now seen wide adoption across the GraphQL Community. The speed of adoption of GraphQL in major enterprises and growing companies demonstrates that GraphQL is here to stay and will not be wiped out anytime soon.